Meat and Sarcasm
by Nana'sTeaParty
Summary: Someone has to be the first to forgive: Sokka and Zuko have some early-morning bonding over sarcasm and meat.  One-shot taking place between The Firebending Masters and The Southern Raiders.


Breathing deeply, Zuko let his body fall into the rhythm of his firebending forms. His body was silhouetted against the rising sun, the first glow of morning light just beginning to bathe the Western Air Temple in soft pink light; like most firebenders, it was a rare morning that Zuko was able to sleep past dawn. The movements were soothing and familiar in a way his life hadn't been in a long time, even less so since his decision to become the Avatar's teacher. The group had hardly welcomed him with open arms, not that he could blame them. And he was completely inadequate at remedying the situation, something that frustrated him to no end. He was trying damn it, why couldn't they see that?

His fists clenched, and the tension threw him off balance. A growl escaped his lips as he righted himself, pushing his hands palms down in an attempt to regain a sense of calm. It was hard when he could practically hear Azula mocking him, "_What's the matter Zuzu? Not getting along with your new friends?"_ He could practically see her smirk. "_I'm not surprised. I'm sure they were expecting a teacher who could at least do a basic firebending form. You always were a failure, big brother."_ As if to burn away his sister's image, Zuko let out a blast of frustration, flames licking down the temple wall before dissipating in the cool air. Sighing out a brief puff of fire, Zuko rolled his shoulders to start again when a real voice from behind (definitely _not _Azula) made him stumble again, whirling around to face the potential threat.

"What's the matter, jerk?" Still having trouble with your jerkbending?"

* * *

Sokka was not a firebender, nor was he from the Fire Nation. He was Water Tribe through and through, and though he'd challenege anyone who called a Water Tribesman lazy, Sokka most definitely was not prone to rising daily with the sun. He stayed asleep until necessity, or his sister, woke him. Today, it was the rumbling in his stomach that pulled him from a hazy, jumbled dream featuring Suki and blubbered squid jerky.

"_Man, I could really go for some blubbered squid jerky_," was his first conscious thought, as he ignored the time and stretched noisily, moving to his packs to dig up some food. Pawing through a bag, he pulled out his boomerang to get a better look, the weapon taking a leather sack with it. Loosening the drawstring eagerly, the scent of spicy komodo sausage filled his nostrils, and he turned shining eyes towards his beloved boomerang. "You never let me down," he whispered adoringly before zealously diving into the meat. He was soon interrupted by Katara's faint noise of displeasure, sleep disturbed by the loud chewing coming from the opposite side of the room.

Chagrined, Sokka moved his early-morning snacking further away from the slumbering members of Team Avatar. Eating at a slightly more sedate pace, he meandered out of the designated sleeping quarters and was drawn outside by the quiet sounds of measured steps and deep breathing. Cautious, though none of his traps had been triggered to warn them of outside danger, Sokka wondered who else was up at such as early hour. Standing in the doorway, he was surprised to see it was Zuko, engaged in some firebender dance. _Form,_ Zuko had corrected him, thought Sokka, snickering.

The guy really wasn't so bad, Sokka thought, watching him as he leaned against the doorframe. Of course he hadn't been thrilled about letting Zuko join their group, for the obvious reasons and because of how Katara reacted. But Aang and Toph trusted him, and the Avatar did need a firebending teacher. As the plan guy, Sokka couldn't deny that it made no sense to turn down one at such a critical moment. So it couldn't hurt to be civil. Besides, the more he go to know Zuko-the-person instead of Zuko-the-Fire-Prince-trying-to-kill-them-all-in-a-blaze-of-firey-doom (not his best nickname he would admit), he found the bender's displays of temper more amusing than threatening. Who was he kidding, the guy was hilarious.

Having made up his mind somewhere in his musings to keep Zuko company, Sokka spoke up when he stumbled, bringing up his latest creation of comedic genius. "Jerkbending," he laughed through a mouthful of sausage. "That one's priceless.

Zuko turned towards Sokka, fists balling at his sides as he abandoned his exercises to shout at Sokka. "It's not jerkbending! And I'm not having trouble," he added lamely, losing steam towards the end of his statement.

Sokka waved a sausage at him in a placating gesture. "Yeah, yeah. Calm down buddy. You need to get more sleep. Maybe then you wouldn't be so cranky."

Zuko's features became more severe as his glare intensified. "And I'm NOT CRANKY." With that, he turned his back on Sokka, dropping into another bending stance. He was intent on ignoring him in favor of keeping peace, and his temper. Why was it so hard to stay on the Avatar's and his friend's good side? He didn't seem to realize that Sokka was just fooling around.

"Soooo," Sokka started after a moment of silence. "Why are you up so early? Get hungry?"

Not stopping in his movements, Zuko responded curtly, "No." He sent out a quick blast of fire, trying to draw it out like Iroh had taught him with flowing gestures that would have looked more natural on Katara or Aang than the aggressive firebender. "I'm training. Someone has to work around here."

"Hey!" Sokka squawked. "We work! We just want to be well-rested! What are you gonna do, brood the Fire Lord to death?"

"Shut up! I told you, I'm not cranky." Zuko's jaw clenched, and he breathed through a shift in form. With effort, he tried to calm down and play nice. "I'm always up this early."

"Huh, really?" Sokka paused, and then suddenly exclaimed with an accusatory finger, "That's how you always caught up with us! You're like a wood frog; you never sleep!"

"I sleep!" He yelled back, pausing again in his exercise. Sokka was still looking at him, ridiculous and accusing even while biting off another large chunk of meat. Sighing, he gave up and stood normally, walking to halve the distance between Sokka and himself. _Okay Zuko,_ he thought, rubbing the back of his head. _You can be friends with these people._ "I do sleep," he repeated in a more conversational tone. "In the Fire Nation, we rise with the sun. It's a firebender thing. It's hard to sleep through sunrise." A bit haltingly, he ventured "Don't you stay up later during the full moon? Or at least, doesn't your sister?" She was a powerful enough waterbender that it should have been hard for her to sleep when the moon pulled at her, like it did the tides.

A bit startled at the serious reply to his joking remarks, Sokka thought about it. "You know, we did always stay up later during full moons." He had never really attributed the cultural habit to one that stemmed from bending. As Katara was the last waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe, it had simply never occurred to him. It was just something they did, spending those late evenings feasting and dancing and telling stories. At the memory, Sokka felt a brief pang of homesickness.

"We Watertribe don't need the sun to rise!" He declared, looking superior. "We have perfect biological clocks, honed from seasons where we don't see light for days on end!"

Zuko looked skeptical. "Then why are you up so early today? Maybe your clock's broken."

"My clock is just fine! My stomach just can't tell time," he finished sheepishly, looking down at the now half-empty bag. The meat inside was seasoned with the hot, unfamiliar spices of the Fire Nation, and it suddenly occurred to Sokka that if he was homesick after only being away for a year, Zuko had to have been during the three years he spent banished, hunting the Avatar. He couldn't keep from glancing at the scar, then the boy who was standing awkwardly, looking at the floor near Sokka's feet, as if he didn't know how to continue their mostly friendly conversation. The corner of his mouth was tugged into a smile, and Sokka decided to go the extra mile.

"Komodo sausage?" Sokka offered suddenly, edging into Zuko's space and waving the sausage in his face.

Zuko shied away at his close proximity while insisting "I said I wasn't hungry."

Sokka didn't move away. "Come on. It's goooood."

"Fine, just get it out of my face." Zuko snatched the meat from his hand and stared at it. Satisfied, Sokka plopped down on the ground to lean back and watch the sunrise. Slowly, Zuko's eyes tracked from the meat to Sokka, and he sighed heavily before joining him on the ground, enough distance between them that their shoulders weren't quite touching. He took a small bite and chewed thoughtfully before muttering "thanks." His shoulders relaxed and he leaned back, taking another bite, eyes on the sky.

"Don't mention it. That's just me, the meat and sarcasm guy."


End file.
